pound-force

noun

A unit of force equal to the weight, on earth (subject to standard gravity), of a mass of one avoirdupois pound, equal to about 4.44822 newtons. Symbol lbf or lb_f.

Meanings

nounpound-force (plural pounds-force)

plural pounds-force

  1. A unit of force equal to the weight, on earth (subject to standard gravity), of a mass of one avoirdupois pound, equal to about 4.44822 newtons. Symbol lbf or lb_f.
    1 more example

    The slug is defined as the mass which would accelerate at a rate of 1 ft/s² under a force of one pound-force (lbf). Since 1 lbf is the force exerted on a mass of one pound by a standard gravitational field (of exactly 9.80665 meters per square second), a slug is thus exactly equal to 196133/6096 pounds (about 32.1740485564 lb or 14.593902937206 kg).

    2000 October 9, Gérard P. Michon, “What is a slug, in the [engineering] weight measurement system?”, in Numericana.com

Origin

From pound + force, to differentiate from the unit of mass.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pound-force. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pound-force

MLA

“pound-force.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pound-force. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pound-force,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pound-force.

Source: pound-force on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.